Slicing machine with hand-operated material feeder



March l12, 1935.

P. J. LUCEY SLICING MACHINE WITH HAND OPERATED MATERIAL FEEDER FiledDeo. 22, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l P. J. LUCEY March l2, 19.35.

SLICING MACHINE WITH HAND OPERATED MATERIAL FEEDER Filed Dec. 22, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 uff/afa@ uN-:ITED v*sfrisur-ils* PATENT forel-clef VThisinvention relatesto a slicing machine with ING .LWITH HAND-.emanadaMATERIAL `FEEDER.

Y o l Patrick ALucey, Chicago, Ill. Application. December 22, 1930,SerialfNo.5503;899

v5 oia'iins.

"hand-operated Ymaterial feeder. l

`Oneof the main objects of this invention is to provide an inexpensiveslicing machine wherein 5 the material is fed by hand and the handisjprotected from injury while feeding the material lto the slicingknife;

Another object of this .invention is 'to provide an inexpensive slicingmachine including means wherewith to engage the 'material'and feed itmanually tothe slicing knife, 'in such a manner that eveni'the smallend-piece will 'be firmly held during slicing andthe entire mass ofmaterial will 'be properly sliced.

Sti'll another object is to provide, in a Vslicing machine' of the'hand-'fed type, means whereby to holdthe'material iirmly and feed itmanually,

so that 'the entire'mass of'material' canbe' completely andproperlysliced, without endangering the'hand thereby.

A' further object of this invention is to provide meanswhereby tojieed'the material manually to the 'knife and Which'means willIfunction, during the 'inoperative period o'f the machine, las guardmeans for the cutting vportion of the knife, which 'is `exposed'duringthe slicing operation and has heretoiorebeen left exposed also duringtheperiod A of rest, in this Vhand-fed.v type of machine.

A stillfurther object is 'to provide a machine of this type with a'pusher or member for feeding the material'manually to the"kni:"e; andwhich is -arrangedso that the pusher will adjust itself automaticallyfor limiting its movement to the-knife vedge, .in harmony withthe-adjustment 4.of the gage .-platefforethe particular thickness .ofslice desired.

These and otherobjects and advantages are attained with this invention,as will become a-p- ,parent from the following descrip-tion, taken .inconnectionwith theaccompanying drawings., in

Fig. l is .an .end elevational vi ew of a slicing A,ma-

chine embodying my present invention in its ,pre-

iered form .of construction.

Eig. 2 .is atop .plan view, partly in sectiomtaken Online v2--2.of.Fig..3, looking in .a downwardly .slanting direction.

Fig. vEl y.isa side View, partly insection, @taken on line 3-3 billig. 1looking .in an upwardly-slanting direction.

at about mid-elevation, and additionally showing I the adjustable stopelements `near the top of the knife, as shown in Fig. 2. l

5' is a side elevational vie W; of my novel 'material feedingmemberjor'materialpushen which protects'theheufidl in 'feeding thematerial to the -sl-icingknife. v

` In lthe'drawings myinvention is illustrated in its Apreferred 'formerconstruction, which comprises a'supportingbase '10 wherefromabracketl'lslan'ts upwardly 'and' ycarries ja cap or housing portion 12 at itsupper end-containing the means 'for'rotatably mountingthejcircuiarslicin'g'knife '13. A motor 14 ismounted` on bracket means15"provid'ed'on thebase, for driving-said `knife with suitable 'drivingconnections, as by the use of suitable pulley and belt means 16; asindi'catedin the drawings. A material rest `or t'able "1"7',Vsubstantiallyin the form of aplate, is mounted on the base, to extendat an' inclination tothe horizontal, preferably at 'forty-five'degrees.` its main upper part 17 provides thesupp'orting face or portionwhereon the material rests and is 'moved'during the slicing operation;andzits llower-'partv 1'7" vprovides an apron which' extends jfromsaidupperl supporting partat ja' slant vdownwardly'and rearwardly, atone sideof the VAknifeandfrom about mideelevation thereof, 'sa-id'apronhaving its 'lower end secured to 'the base, with screws Yor the :like:The upper part of the materia'lrest `or table is mounted on leg means18' arising from the'base.

A gage plate l20is vmountedon 4the `material 'rest `ortablev 17,preferably to Aextend substantially at right; angles theretdtheupperipari;V or face 17 of'said table, in lconjunction vvvithtlie 'adjacent face of V'thegage plate; providing `the `i'ee'dway or slide- Way'on which'them'aterial is slid or' movedY during the 'slicing operationiSaidieedwayis formed troughelike; being `prei'e'rably V-'sh'aped incrosssection, substantially as shown in the drawings. Vlvfeansis'provided for 'ad'justably mounting the gage plate on'the'material rest,comprising 'a casing or'foot `porti'onz 1' extending ,rearwardly 'from"thelower end of said plate and being adjustably held on the" apronl1'7" ofv said rest, preferably by the use of screws'22 whichv aremovable in slots 23 providedin''apron 1'7" and are threaded into 'lugs24 providedinrs'aid' casing.' A cup r25 surrounds 4the outer part'ofeach screw, and bears frictionally against the-outer orlower side ofsaid apronywhile a rcoil springy '26 is placed in each cup,beingconnedbetwelen the'head of the screw andthe'bott'om of 'the cup;vsfo'that thelugs 24 are rmlyfdra'wn and 4frictionally .held against theinner side, andthe. cupsagainst the outer side of said apron.. The gage,plate is thereby held iirmly in fitsa'djustediposition and so as. topermit adjustmen't thereof relative to the material rest andtheknife.

Setting means is provided for adjusting or setting the gage plate on thematerial rest, relative to the knife, for providing'the particularthickness of slice desired, and this means preferably comprises asetting knob or index knob 27 having numbers or indicia 28 thereon, toco-operate with a nger 29 on the machine, for indicating the particularadjustment of the gage plate according to the particular thickness ofslice desired. The knob is attached to suitable actuating means, beingpreferably secured to the outer end of a shaft 30 which is journaled incasing 21 and carries on its inner end a pinion 31 in mesh with arackbar 32 which is secured on the upper side of said apron.

In adjusting or setting the gage plate, by turning the knob the pinion31 travels over the rackbar 32, thereby sliding the casing overtheapronof the material rest and adjusting it thereon, relative to the knifeedge, to the desired position. The springs 26 permit sufficientseparation of the lugs 24 and the cups 25, to enable said cups and lugsto slide along the apron, when the knob is turned; and the springs areunder sufcient compression or strain to normally hold the cups and lugsfirmly set on the apron, and retain the gage plate properly in the setposition.

This slicing machine I provide with means whereby to engage the materialand feed it by hand along the feedway to the slicing knife. Said meanspreferably comprises a feeding member or pusher 35, as best shown inFig. 5 of the drawings, which is provided with a handle 36 at theoutward and rearward part thereof, to be grasped by the hand, and whichis so arranged that the hand is protected from injury by the knife whilefeeding the material thereto. Said feeding member has its front portionor face portion 37 arranged to engage and hold a mass of materialsecurely while sliding it along the feedway to the knife edge, and itpreferably has said face portion curved in harmony with the knife edgeand has the upper part 37 of said portion projecting forwardly so thatthev material is urged downwardly on the feedway. The face portion isalso arranged to urge the material, and particularly the final portionor an end-piece, inwardly toward the knife and thev gage plate, so as tosecurely hold and properly feed the entire mass of material; and forthat reason said front face portion is provided with a beveled sideportion 38 at its inward side, adjacent the gage plate, which has itsinward front edge cut-away to provide a beveled edge or face 38', sothat even a small endpiece will be urged and pressed toward the gageplate and securely held thereby while being fed to the knife. Saidbeveled portion 38 thus bears back of the end-piece or the final portionof material for pushing the latter against the knife edge, and ismovable with said end-piece in the plane extended through said edge.

The feeding member or pusher is mounted to be moved manually along thefeedway for feeding the material thereon to the knife; and the means formounting it preferably comprise guide means connected with the gageplate 20. Said guide means includes, in this illustrated form, a pair ofguide rods 40 which are secured on lugs 4l extending from the rear ofthe gage plate near the knife, and on lugs 42 extending from the rear ofarms 43 which project from the end of the gage plate away from theknife. A web or plate-like member 44 hasl a pair of parallel sleeves 45provided at its opposite ends, which are slidably mounted on said guiderods 40, as by the use of bearing means 46. A curved arm or yoke 47,which extends over the top edge of the gage plate, connects the feedingmember positioned at the front of said gage plate with the web member 44and its sleeves 45 positioned at the rear of said plate, so that saidfeeding member or pusher is slidably mounted for slidable movement alongthe feedway.

Stop means is provided for limiting the travel of the feeding member,and stopping it just before its beveled edge 38 engages the edge of theknife. This means includes a finger or stop element 48 provided at theside of yoke 47 and having a beveled front edge or face 48', said edge48 and the beveled edge or face 38 being so beveled that a pair ofhorizontal lines extending through said two edges will be parallel toeach other, as is best apparent from Fig. 4. A companion stop element orfinger 49 is mounted on the machine, being preferably mounted on an arm50 extending horizontally from a bracket 51 which arises from cap 12 ofthe machine. Said element 49 has a beveled edge or face 49 which isbeveled in harmony with its companion beleved edge 48 on finger 48.

With this construction the stop elements 48 and 49 and the side portion38 are so arranged, and they have their faces 48', 49', and 38' sobeveled, that when the gage plate is adjusted relative to the knife, byturning knob 27 and actuating the adjusting means according to thethickness of slice desired, these companion beveled faces 48 and 49 willoperate to automatically adjust the feeding member 35 so that itsbeveled face 38 will be stopped immediately adjacent the edge of theknife; whether said feeding member is located at the outer side of itsadjustment, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, or is located near theinner side, substantially as shown in Fig. v4. With this arrangement thefeeding member or pusher is thus automatically adjusted in its movementto the knife edge, along with the various adjustments of the gage plateand in exact accord therewith.

I also make these stop elements adjustable, to c' provide for differentdiameters of knives, and for the varying diameter of a knife, as forinstance, when the diameter of the knife is decreased due to thecontinuous sharpening of the knife edge; whereby the feeding member orpusher can be readjusted or reset, so that its beveled edge 38 willagain stop immediately adjacent the knife edge. For readily making thisadjustment I provide slots 53 in the stationary stop element 49, andscrews 54 which extend therethrough and are threaded into arm 50 forclamping said element onto said arm; so that said normally stationary,but adjustable element 49 can be readily and accurately adjusted on thexed arm 50 on the machine.

Guard means 56 is provided for guarding the main or major part of theknifel edge, as is customary in these slicing machines, that partoutside of the portion which is active and necessarily uncovered incutting the material as it is being fed thereto, this cutting portionbeing indicated by numeral 57 in Figs. 3 and 4. Saidguard'means issecured and supported on the machine with any suitable means, which mayinclude a screw 58 for guarding said cutting portion 57 of the knifevedge while the machine is inactive or at rest, and which portion isnormally left unguarded. For this reason feeding member 35 has its faceportion 37 curved in conformity with the knife edge and made of an exactsize to extend from the upper part of said guard means 56 down to thelower part 56' thereof; so as to extend along and to guard the entirenormally exposed cutting portion 7 of the knife edge.

It is consequently apparent, that, by the adjusting or setting of thegage plate on the material rest, in accordance to the thickness of slicedesired, the side portion 38 of the feeding member 35 has its part nearthe gage plate positioned substantially in the plane of the knife edge,and back of the slice of material which is about to be sliced; thusproviding a firm support therefor to assure proper slicing of the entiremass of material, and complete slicing of even a small endpiece; andfurthermore, it becomes evident that this feeding member 35 willfunction as a guard for the cutting portion 57 of the knife edge, bymerely pushing it to the limit of its travel toward said edge, whereuponthis member along with said guard means 56 will provide a complete guardfor the knife.

I claim as my invention:

1. A slicing machine comprising a rotary knife, a material rest and agage plate adjustably mounted thereon and which therewith provides afeedway for the material, guide rod means on the outer side of said gageplate and positioned rearwardly of the plane through the knife edge, anda vmaterial feeding member slidably mounted on said guide rod means tobe moved manually for sliding the material along said feedway.

2. A slicing machine comprising a horizontal base having a rotary knifemounted inclined thereon, a trough-shaped feedway including a materialrest and a gage plate which is adjustable relative to said rest andwherealong the material is fed to the knife, a hand-engaged materialfeeding member and coengaging means on said member and on the gage platerearwardly of the plane through the knife edge, whereby said member ismovably mounted on the gage plate for feeding the material to the knife.

3. In a slicing machine provided with a rotary knife and a feedway onwhich the material is fed against the knife edge, a feeding member andcooperating means thereon and on the machine whereby said member isslidably mounted to be moved manually along said feedway, a beveled parton said member to bear back of an end-piece and to be moved therewith inthe plane of the knife edge, and stopping elements on said member and onthe machine for stopping the member when the beveled part is close tothe knife edge, said elements having their coengaging portions beveledin conformity with the beveled part on said member, whereby saidbeveledpart is properly stopped directly adjacent the knife edge.

4. In a slicing machine, a rotary knife, a material rest and a gageplate which is adjustable relative to the rest and which therewithprovides a trough-shaped feedway for the material, a manually operatedpusher member, for feeding the material along the feedway, guide meanson the rear face of the gage plate rearwardly of the plane through theknife edge, means extending from said member and engaging said guidemeans to guide said member, and coengaging stop elements on said memberand on the machine for stopping said member when closely adjacent theknife edge, said elements having their coengaging parts beveled so thatthe member automatically adjusts itself to stop short of the `knife edgein harmony with thev adjustment of the gage plater on the material rest.

5. In a. slicing machine, a rotary knife, a material rest and a gageplate which is adjustable relative to the rest and which therewithprovides a feedway for the material, a manually operated member forpushing the material along the feedway to the knife edge, guide means onthe outer side of the gage plate, means on said member to slidablyengage said guide means, said member having a part thereon which isbeveled to hold and to push an end piece of material toward the gageplate and against the knife edge, said` beveled part being movable intothe plane of the knife edge and including means to provide a guard forthe cutting portion of the knife edge, coengaging beveled stop elementson said member and on the machine for stopping the member when thebeveled part is close to the knife edge, and means for adjusting one ofsaid stop elements whereby to accommodate any variation in the size ofthe knife due to continued sharpening.

I PATRICK J. LUCEY.

